Various synthetic dental compositions comprising resins are known in the art for use in dental fillings, tooth replacement parts, bridges and repair parts. Dental adhesive resins for use in coating or sealing enamel surfaces of teeth to prevent decay and for use in the bonding of brackets and the like to teeth in orthodontics are also known in the art.
For example, the Buck U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,041,061, 4,041,062 and 4,041,063 disclose modified cyanoacrylate monomers which may be homopolymerized or copolymerized to form a highly crosslinked polymer useful in dental adhesive compositions. The Schmitt et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,810,938, 3,923,740 and 4,067,853 disclose dental compositions which are formed by polymerization of compounds which are the diesters of acrylic or methacrylic acid with a dihydroxy compound. The Gander et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,090 similarly discloses dental compositions comprising a binder formed from trimethacrylate and triacrylate esters of the aliphatic triols glycerol, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane and trimethylolbutane.
The Orlowski et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,625 discloses compounds which may be polymerized in situ on teeth, which compounds comprise addicts of 1,4-bis[(3-methacroyl-2-hydroxy-propoxy) methyl] cyclohexane and derivatives thereof. The Fellman et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,958, the Kawahara et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,014, the Michl et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,283 and the Rawls et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,920 also disclose resins formed from acrylate and/or methacrylate components, which resins are suitable for use in dental compositions.
While these and additional compositions are known for use in dental applications, there is a continuing need for providing synthetic dental compositions which exhibit good durability and adhesion and low shrinkage and which may be easily employed in various dental applications. There is also a continuing need for developing resins for use in dental compositions which may be efficiently polymerized to high degrees of conversion under the conditions imposed by the oral environment.
Mathias et al, Macromolecules, 1987, 20, 2039-2041; 1988, 21, 545-546, have disclosed the synthesis and polymerization of a methyl acrylate obtained from reaction of aldehydes and acrylate esters. Mathias et al disclose that the methyl acrylates may be used as cross-linking agents in the polymerization of various vinyl monomers.